“It’s called the silly season, for good reason,” says Simran Grover, who is a dietician based in Sydney, referring to the needless weight many of us Punjabis gain during the ongoing Indian festival season. As soon as Navratri ends, a string of festivals greets us with rich food from Dusshera to Diwali onwards till Christmas until the New Year dawns upon us. During this time of the year, we especially binge on mithai (Indian sweets) dripping with ghee and sugar. Add to that the festive socialising, where more of this yummy but unhealthy fare is served and therefore consumed, our bodies hate us for doing it to ourselves.
In a detailed interview with SBS Punjabi, Ms Grover says that during the festival season, most people gain three to five kilos that they can almost never shake off. “Imagine carrying a 3-litre bottle of milk on your back every day. That’s what we do to ourselves,” she warns making the danger of weight gain clear and present. To prevent this, Ms Grover suggests how we can continue to enjoy our festivals even after they are over, by swapping unhealthy mithai choices with vegetable-based sweets and considering alternative cooking methods.
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To listen to this interview in Punjabi, click on the player at the top of the page.
